Frozen Whisker Pole Jaws

[jpendoley]

Need some advice for the frozen jaw on my sloop's whisker pole. Its track mounted on the mast and the lower jaw is frozen closed. I was able to drive the pin open enough to get it off the ring on the base of the mast, but it only will retract when driven back in with a hammer. The tripping mechanism to close the jaws also does not seem to work. I've used penetrant liberally for weeks...
Also, the pole end fitting tha'ts frozen is not riveted or screwed to the pole end yet it does not move on the tube-what the heck holds it on? I had considered cutting it off and ordering a new end fitting-but that seems like a pretty drastic solution for a simple problem. Anybody experienced the same and come up with a good fix?